Derek™

Yeah, that one takes the cake so far. Shame it’ll be a few more months before we can see how those later variants shook out.

Even better. I went straight for the throat and found the profile in the screenshot above. I presume they’ll take it personally and lose sleep over it.

Knowing that they come unglued that easily, I’m afraid that I’m now gonna’ have to dust off my IG account and see if I can’t push their buttons a bit. I have like 6 posts on my profile and they’re all private so whoever is running that account can seethe. 😎

What a fucking loon.

Glad to hear these are arriving quickly and in great shape so far. I gave everything the tried and true, patented shake test™ before shipping them out, and made sure everyone had some Fragile stickers. By coincidence or not, I’ve found that any mention of Fragile on my vinyl orders has resulted in a noticeably higher likelihood than the package isn’t thrashed or bent.

The few photos I’ve seen for a couple of the variants so far have felt very underwhelming and weird. This is why I never try to cash in and sell an OG press before I have and hear a reissue, in hand.

…So were there any divots or dimples? Don’t leave us hanging.

Like Herod is about as punishing as post-rock gets. I think there’s probably a time and place for crescendo-core but at the same time I think the market has been saturated with that sound for way too long, and anyone following instrumental “rock” for the last 15-20 years is just fatigued by it. Especially after seeing Mogwai live for the first time, back in… 2013, 2014 or so, I feel like I’ve 100% been reaching for their albums more consistently than stuff like Caspian, TWDY, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with those bands or their ability to write a tune, but it just feels like there is such a deeper well of creative songwriting to draw from with Mogwai. And it spans across so many records, and so many years. Once you figure out which albums satisfy specific moods, and start to attach some memories to them, it starts to feel like there’s almost no bad time to throw on at least one Mogwai record. And this is all coming from someone who was late to the party. It’d be so cool to follow this band from the late 90s. I was in grade school when YT dropped; I didn’t appreciate music as a whole, let alone new genres. I think I downloaded all their stuff in 2011, with the intent of checking them out in chronological order. I remember YT and CODY being so intriguing on first play… and then the next morning, or maybe a couple of days later, HWNDBYW leaked. Hearing that in its entirety really helped me realize that they were something beyond EITS, GY!BE, Caspian, TWDY, ITTCT, and whatever post-rock I was getting acclimated to, all those years ago. Feels like I’ve been pretty loyal to them ever since.

Yeah, there’s a pretty good sense of uniformity across all 3… but at what cost? 😕

If the intent was to keep it sealed and have it collect dust on a shelf, what would it matter if there were divots that impacted playback? Or am I misunderstanding something here?

That is some seriously trash “reimagined” art.

If I know Gumbo like I think I know Gumbo, he’s still gonna’ have a soft spot for tremolo-core and favor it to the breadth of sounds that Mogwai covers. In all fairness I sort of get why someone may want to keep a band like Mogwai in their back pocket. They have such a lengthy discography and are held in high regard among most post-rock circles… it’s like having a reserve of good music on tap. But at the same time, if it were me – knowing the band was still active – I’d want to know if they were suited for me or not, and would have to explore them to be prepared for new POs, limited edition reissues, and tour announcements. To each their own though. I feel like Mogwai are kind of the name referenced when discussing quiet-loud-quiet-loud songwriting in post-rock. Which is funny because Stuart and co. hate being labeled “post-rock” if I remember correctly. I do think that people who live for Caspian’s twinkly guitars and cinematic “wall of soaring guitars” - with interest in little else - won’t really get just how much Mogwai bring to the table. There’s a ton to process, especially when being yanked around with styles that you don’t encounter in typical post-rock: slowcore, vocals, vocoder, heavy electronic / synths, etc. There are undoubtedly post-rock bands that incorporate those sounds, of course. But few that integrate them so heavily and frequently as Mogwai. Anyway. I do wish I could go back into their discography blind or with minimal exposure. Especially in 2022. I can only imagine. I think there is a ton and that it can’t possibly just click instantly, all at once. (Especially if it challenges the conventional EITS / TWDY 9-minute guitar crescendos.) But it’s so good and worth the time to explore – even my least favorite Mogwai records are worth owning and sitting down with.

It would be equally wild if someone willingly bought that many boots, too. 😶

What are you asking about the YT remaster, Gumbo? It’s impossible to predict how the new one will sound. All we know is that the original 1997 recording engineer (Paul Savage) is handling it. Are you asking if you should grab this new reissue or spring for an OG press? “Fine”

Understandable. For what it’s worth, there’s 2 comments I’ve spied so far (1 on IG, 1 on Discogs, could be the same person) which have said that Xuvetyn sounds excellent. I guess Scott was selling copies last week at Astrobrite shows, so a few folks have had their hands on copies for a minute. Given that the music spans across 2 LPs, I’d like to believe those early takes aren’t just fanboy chatter.

The album is obviously noisy in nature so maybe I’m not being as critical as I ought to be, but I wouldn’t call it a terrible press – are you referring to the 2 comments on Discogs? That “review” section is pretty entertaining. One guy keeps malding over the aftermarket prices. A few more seem really confused where and when the Kickstarter happened. Throw in a “just buy the CD like I did it sounds good” cope. Your usual shenanigans for that site.

Nice. I specifically gave up on finding a colored variant of this at a decent price, so this is rad. Hopefully it (somehow) sounds better than prior presses – reviews make it sound like they all leave a bit to be desired.

If only someone could’ve predicted how that variant would turn out.

And… I think that’s a wrap. Everyone should have received a tracking number as of this afternoon. Thanks again to everyone for their patience on this thing. I‘ve been on the move a fair bit this week, but didn’t want to flake on that projected shipping date. I hope they reach everyone in the same top shape that they left my place in.

Xuvetyn should be dropping in 30 minutes. [edit] A few hours late but it’s up on bandcamp. No press quantity given but limited to 2 per person. $11 shipping is kinda’ gnarly, but I don’t know if it’ll be cheaper elsewhere. 🤷‍♂️ You also have to remember that Scott is self-releasing these. Buying it now (or Bandcamp Friday if it’s still in stock on 11/4) is probably the best way to get the money into his pocket.

If I recall, all of the big / popular threads had to be locked or removed because spam bots would register and flock to them specifically.

To be fair, drama makes the world go round.

How tall are you? Because this struggle is too relatable for me (6’0”). I feel like I haven’t been able to “fill out” until my later 20s… so prior to that I’ve been pretty self-conscious about my appearance in 90% of Large band shirts that fit a baggy or drape. Mediums fit way better but certain brands definitely rise up a bit too much if I’m reaching overhead or something. A slightly longer Medium would be the dream at my current age / build.

2¢ from a skinny twig bitch: Gildan can feel rigid but isn’t a dealbreaker. I feel like I have some Gildan shirts that are definitely worn in and feel okay, but others that a little stiff and “scrape”ish. I sure do love me some tri-blend American Apparel for comfort, but I can see where others wouldn’t prefer how soft they are or how they can feel like they “drape” compared to a Gildan shirt.

They’re pretty good about pulling orders down when they suspect they won’t be able to fulfill additional orders. I’ve been stung maybe once or twice at most over the countless orders through them over the years. I think white vinyl works but it’s very situational. Was actually texting about potential variants yesterday and white was my top pick for CODY so we’re on the same wavelength there. I definitely didn’t “need” these but it would be way cool to own a full colored Mogwai discography someday. They seem to be on a roll with colored reissues as of late.